Political Revolutions and Women's Progress: Why the Egyptian Arab Spring Failed to Deliver on the Promises of Women's Rights Anne Song [email protected]
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The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Master's Theses Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Spring 5-18-2018 Political Revolutions and Women's Progress: Why the Egyptian Arab Spring Failed to Deliver on the Promises of Women's Rights Anne Song [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/thes Part of the African Studies Commons, International Relations Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Song, Anne, "Political Revolutions and Women's Progress: Why the Egyptian Arab Spring Failed to Deliver on the Promises of Women's Rights" (2018). Master's Theses. 1088. https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/1088 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Political Revolutions and Women’s Progress: Why the Egyptian Arab Spring Failed to Deliver on the Promises of Women’s Rights. Anne Song Los Angeles, California May 2018 Master of Arts in International Studies 1 Political Revolutions and Women’s Progress: Why the Egyptian Arab Spring Failed to Deliver on the Promises of Women’s Rights. In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in International Studies By Anne Song May 1, 2018 University of San Francisco Under the guidance and approval of the committee, and approval by all the members, this thesis project has been accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree. APPROVED: Advisor Date ____________________________________ ____________________ Academic Director Date ____________________________________ ____________________ 2 Abstract The mass participation of women in the 2011 Egyptian Arab Spring began what many thought would be a new feminist movement. As news cycles started showing the central role of women in the Arab Spring, many people including the women who demonstrated believed women’s rights were on the horizon. This study shows why the 2011 Arab Spring did not deliver on the promises of women’s rights in Egypt. Explaining the historical, religious, and societal influences on women’s rights in Egypt, and using data from the Arab Barometer and reports from the World Bank and UN, this study shows that the demands Egyptian women made during the Arab Spring were left largely unmet and, in some cases, gender discrimination increased. This study will explain why women’s rights cannot only be measured by legislative changes but requires a comprehensive understanding of why certain barriers to gender equality persist. 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5 Major concepts and data .............................................................................................................. 7 Women in Post-Revolution Egypt............................................................................................... 8 Women’s Rights in Egyptian History ....................................................................................... 11 Women’s Rights under the Mubarak Regime ........................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 - Literature Review ................................................................................................... 17 Women’s Rights in the MENA ................................................................................................. 17 Islamic law ................................................................................................................................ 21 Islamic Feminism / Secular Feminism ...................................................................................... 23 Women’s Rights in Political Transitions .................................................................................. 26 Chapter 3 - Methodology & Data .............................................................................................. 29 Defining Women’s Rights ......................................................................................................... 29 The Status of Egyptian Women after the 2011 Arab Spring ..................................................... 29 Egyptian Women and the New Constitution ............................................................................. 30 Violence Against Women ......................................................................................................... 33 Political Participation ................................................................................................................ 37 Personal Status Law .................................................................................................................. 39 Public Opinion........................................................................................................................... 40 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 4 - Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 44 What did we learn? ....................................................................................................................... 44 Limitations of the study............................................................................................................. 47 What are the future prospects for women in Egypt? ................................................................. 48 Avenues for future work ........................................................................................................... 49 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 51 4 Chapter 1 – Introduction During January 2011, a political revolution in Egypt also known as the Arab Spring began immediately following the events in December 2010 when a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire as a sign of protest against years of police harassment and corruption. Bouazizi’s story resonated with thousands of men and women across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly women and youth.1 In Egypt, a few months prior to the Arab Spring a young man named Khaled Saeed was beaten to death by the police which provoked angered Egyptians to take to social media to express their outrage. So, the events in Tunisia led to demonstrations in the streets of Egypt demanding democracy and liberty and publicly show their opposition to authoritarian rule, political corruption, and economic insecurity. Egyptians of different religious and political backgrounds were unified in the uprising under the slogan, “bread, freedom, and dignity.”2 Women played a critical role in organizing the Arab Spring in Egypt both in public and virtual spaces. As Egyptian women began mobilizing to protest political corruption, the demand for women’s rights grew into a parallel movement with the Arab Spring. 20-50% of the protesters in Tahrir Square were women3, signaling a consensus on the status of women in their nation, and as Alvi says, many who observed the events thought a feminist movement would develop after the revolutions, creating policies that would improve their status.4 1 Ahmed Ali, Fatuma and Muthoni Macharia, Hannah (2013). “Women, Youth, and the Egyptian Arab Spring.” Peace Review no. 3: 359-399. 2 Ibid., 360. 3 Hafez, Sherine (2012). No Longer a Bargain: Women, Masculinity, and the Egyptian Uprising. American Ethnologist. Vol. 39, No 1, pp. 37-42. 4 Alvi, Hayat (2015). Women’s Rights Movements in the ‘Arab Spring’: Major Victories or Failures for Human Rights? Journal of International Women’s Studies, 16(3),294-318. 5 Asma Mahfouz, a female Egyptian activist became known as the ‘leader of the revolution’ when her online video called for people to join mass demonstrations which helped ignite the protest. Famous Egyptian feminist Nawal Al Saadawi went to Tahrir Square to gain attention for gender equality as an equally important priority, although her efforts were not as popularly received as Mahfouz but instead criticized for being inappropriate and ill-timed. A journalist named Samia Sade said of the failed march, “This march, which was supposed to attract a million women to rally for women’s rights, only managed to get five hundred women out to the square. They were shouted at by some men who told them to ‘go back to the kitchen’”5 (362). Nonetheless, the overwhelming presence of women and their role in the revolution was undeniable. The many injustices and structural violence that women suffered under the Mubarak regime prompted Egyptian women to protest strongly and visibly. Some of the injustices women were subjected include sexual harassment and abuse through “virginity tests,” and unequitable marriage, divorce, and custody laws compared to their male counterparts. Ali & Macharia state that, Sexual violations of women in Egypt are made worse by the fact that the